New Orleans

Because three of my friends are also getting married this summer, they planned a "bachelor party" and invited me. I was flattered as the oldest on of them is 10 years younger than me. I thought it may be too much to do as I wind down and prepare to move, but Jenn encouraged me to go and so I went. I had a great time.

Thursday

I was the first to arrive. I stepped off the plane and realized quickly that I would not need the sweatshirt I brought with me from Boston. I also realized that I would need shorts. It was hot and humid. Man I miss it. I caught the shuttle to the hotel, they stored my bags, I went to the store and bought some shorts, I changed and was off to walk around by myself.

Before I left, I got a few tips on places to see good music and good beer. Well, drink beer and listen to music. I walked to Frenchmen street. This is a nice area that is more local than Bourban street. It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day and I enjoyed the walk. I saw street entertainers, jazz bands in restuarants, a cigar store where several men were hand rolling the cigars, some history tours, carriage rides, Louis Armstrong park, the waterfront and all the clubs that I wanted to visit for the music.

I doubled back and had lunch on the way. Red beans and rice, shrimp creole, a few beers, some people watching and I was in a great mood. I miss the cajun spice.

I camped out at the hotel bar and the gang slowly showed up. Several were drunk from the airplane and in great spirits. We headed out to eat and then find a place to get kicked out of.

We ended the night late and it was a blast. We never made it past Bourbon street, which is fine because there is a lot of fun to be had there. Tomorrow night I will take them to the cool music clubs.

Friday

I took JP for breakfast at Mothers - a small well known local place. He loved it and I loved it. The coffee was very very strong. I couldn't finish it. The sausage was spicy and the grits, well, grits are grits no matter how you fix them. We went back to the hotel and then headed to Harrahs casino. I thought this would be fun for a few hours.

I lost some money quickly and cashed out. I then spent the remainder of the day watching one of our crew win $600 in blackjack. He actually was up just shy of $1K but then lost a few key hands and cashed out. Not bad for sitting down with $60.

We then went to Howl at the Moon. It is a sing-a-long bar that has two pianos and two guys joke and sing and take requests while the entire bar sings along to greats like "Sweet Caroline", I think they played it a few times. The group got too rowdy to take to a quiet music bar so we stayed there all night. It was a lot of fun.

Tomorrow night, for sure, I will take them to the cool music clubs.

Saturday

We went on a swamp boat tour. This was fantastic. It was hot and sunny and the crew was in particular good spirits. We made fast friends with everybody on the bus out to the boats. While in the swamp, we saw several gators and some good landscape. It was a hit. The driver of the boat was baiting the gators with chicken to get them in close and get them to "jump" out of the water so we could get a good look. It was cool to be that close.

We went back to the hotel and changed for dinner.

Another person in our party arrived and we headed out to eat dinner and then to Bourbon street, because he hadn't been there. We wandered aimlessly unable to make a decision on which place to go into - the are only about 40 clubs and restuarants on the street. We had a hand grenade and settled on Patty O'Briens. Patty O's is an outdoor patio style restuarant/bar. It is famous and worth the trip if you get the chance. Is there anything better than sitting outdoors with your friends while they bring you drinks? Perhaps, but not too much better. It was a perfect night - warm but not humid, my friends were there and I was in New Orleans.

The gang got rowdy again, in a fun way, and they decided that we needed to show our new arrival the Howl at the moon club. At some point, I realized that they would not be allowed entrance to any of the cool music clubs and we were to spend another night at Howl at the Moon. It was fun, again. The piano players had the USAF guys on stage a couple of times to sing "Proud to be an American". That was fun and the whole bar loved us. We were officially rock stars, if only in our minds. I left early, at 2am.

I woke at 6am and caught my flight home with no problems. Tired and happy, I got home and needed to collapse with a smile on my face. Thank you Jenn.

When I come back with normal people, I will hit the cool music clubs.